


Sway

by Meatball



Series: SouMako Week 2015 [4]
Category: Free!
Genre: Domestic, Fluff, Friendship, Gay Chicken, M/M, OR IS IT, SouMako Week 2015, Sousuke winks a lot, oh god the fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 17:03:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5056663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball/pseuds/Meatball
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 4 Submission for SouMako Week 2015</p><p>Prompt: Musical Melody</p><p> </p><p>For the third year in a row, Sousuke has offered to host any number of their single, dateless friends at his place for their own Valentine’s day celebration, an event they’ve since dubbed “Brolentine’s.” It had started out as something Sousuke and Momo devised as a way to help cheer up Seijuurou after he and his girlfriend called it quits only a few weeks before Valentine’s Day. The group that first year ended up being pretty big, with a good few former Samezuka swimmers joining them, in addition to Makoto, Nagisa and Rei. </p><p>But each of the original group had either started dating or moved away since that first year, so this Valentine's Day, it's just Makoto and Sousuke. </p><p>Just another day.</p><p> </p><p>Title of the story is inspired by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmYMkl1Grzc">the Michael Buble version of the song. </a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Sway

**Author's Note:**

> As with [I'd Lie](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4990960), this is a part of a bigger SouMako fic I'm working on. Since the fic itself, as well as its chapters, (as are most of my works, it seems) are related to one song or another, I figured I'd submit this one. 
> 
> I know, it's SO late. I do hope you enjoy.
> 
> Songs referenced in this fic are included in [this playlist.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmYMkl1Grzc&index=1&list=PL3g4bM7HLnOU-EHausIhWojSfBXoTUZ8i)

### February 14, 2020

 _Another year, another Brolentines._ Makoto chuckles to himself as he rides the elevator to Sousuke’s ridiculously huge apartment. For the third year in a row, Sousuke has offered to host any number of their single, dateless friends at his place for their own Valentine’s day celebration, an event they’ve since dubbed “Brolentine’s.” It had started out as something Sousuke and Momo devised as a way to help cheer up Seijuurou after he and his girlfriend called it quits only a few weeks before Valentine’s Day. The group that first year ended up being pretty big, with a good few former Samezuka swimmers joining them, in addition to Makoto, Nagisa and Rei.

Rin and Haru, already a couple, were not there.

It’s funny how things can change in three short years.

Seijuurou finally got Rin’s blessing to pursue his sister, who, to everyone’s surprise, agreed to his request for a date. Not that Rin’s blessing would have mattered. If Gou wanted to say yes, then she would have said yes whether Rin wanted it or not. That was just over two years ago and they’re still together.

About a year after that, Rei came to terms with his bisexuality and his own feelings for Nagisa, who apparently had cried some pretty ugly -- but happy -- tears when Rei asked him out.

Each of the original group had either started dating or moved away since. Ai met a girl a few weeks back, and this morning, he and Sousuke both got a text from Momo that he’d managed to talk someone into going out with him. It was just dinner and a nighttime jaunt around the city but good for him, getting a date on Valentine’s Day.

One thing has stayed the same. As is tradition, Rin and Haru still won’t be there.

So this year, it’s just him and Sousuke.

Just another day.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Sousuke made dinner for the both of them and hung out together for the evening. Hell, that was pretty much all they did when he’d lived here for a couple of months when Rin and Haru got their own place.

* * *

### January 2017

“What’s this?” Makoto stares at the key in his palm.

“It’s a key,” Sousuke answers simply.

Makoto turns his eyes up to Sousuke and cocks his head. “to…?” he asks, expectant.

Sousuke blinks at him, face otherwise blank, before responding with, “...my heart?”

Makoto’s green eyes glisten. He draws in a deep breath and closes his fingers around the key, bringing his hand up and pressing it to his chest. “Sousuke,” he sighs, “I’ll treasure it. Always.” His gaze is steady, holding Sousuke’s intense sea-green eyes. He feels the heat burning its way up his cheeks and he can’t decide whether it’s from what Sousuke said, what _he_ just said, or what he's about to do.

Makoto lifts a hand to Sousuke's face, fingers caressing the hard line of his jaw, thumb resting against the corner of his mouth. Makoto can't help but smile as Sousuke's lips part, just enough for a jagged breath to escape. He licks his lips and leans in.

“My apartment,” Sousuke blurts the words out as one. Makoto stops mere centimeters from Sousuke’s lips, the affectionate smile curling into one of mischief and triumph. “I win,” he breathes against Sousuke’s mouth before pulling his hand away and backing off.

Sousuke turns away, trying to hide visibly pinker cheeks and ears, and reaches a hand to rub the back of his neck. “Man, _you_ have gotten really good at this.”

“Ah, Sousuke. You underestimate how competitive I can actually get.” Makoto lifts up the key and turns it over in his hand. “So, what’s this all about?”

“You just spend enough time at my place, I figure you might as well have a key,” Sousuke answers with a shrug.

“Also,” he continues, “have you thought about what you’re gonna do when Rin moves back to Japan permanently this summer? Haru did tell you they’re planning to move in together, right?”

Makoto nods. Haru had given him a heads up at the end of October and confirmed it a month later. With the last Olympics under their respective belts, Rin and Haru decided that they’d start training together. In Japan.

They'd also decided then to move in together when Rin came back. It only made sense. They were attached at the hip -- figuratively and literally -- whenever Rin came back up for a visit anyway, forcing either Makoto and Sousuke out of their respective apartments when they'd start getting frisky. The first time it happened, Sousuke showed up at Makoto and Haru’s apartment at two in the morning. The next night, it was Makoto who sought refuge with Sousuke. And so it would be every couple of months or so, when Rin would visit from Australia.

Now that he's coming back permanently, it seemed only practical for them to get their own place for both their privacy and their best friends’ sanity.

“When’s your lease up?”

“End of March. Haru and I already scoped out a couple of places for them and they’ll sort it out themselves when Rin comes up next month.”

“What about you?”

Makoto turns to him sheepishly. “I haven’t really. I mean-, I figured I’d just take one of the ones they didn’t want or something.”

“Tch.” Sousuke gives him a look of disappointment that makes him fear getting grounded. “Don’t leave important shit like that to the last minute, Makoto.”

“I know,” Makoto pouts, less with Sousuke’s admonition and more with his own disappointment with his own lack of planning.

“Anyway,” Sousuke points to Makoto’s hand. “Take the key. If you run into issues with getting a new place, you’re more than welcome to take the other room for as long as you need it.”

Makoto stares at him, slack-jawed. Sousuke reaches over and presses a finger to his chin, closing his open mouth.

“You’re gonna swallow a bug if you keep that up,” he quips.

“You seriously don’t have to do this, Sousuke,” Makoto says, overcome with appreciation. Once again, he is met with a shrug.

“You’re my friend, Mako. That’s what friends do.”

* * *

### February 14, 2020

The elevator doors open and Makoto steps out into the quiet hallway, footfalls echoing softly across the marbled flooring. He takes his hand out of his pocket, pulling a set of keys out along with it and choosing the one for number 4913.

As Makoto approaches the apartment door, he hears faint music coming from inside. He inserts the key into the lock and lets himself in.

He pauses at the doorway to listen and scrunches his brows as he recognizes the strains of jazz coming from the living room. It’s foreign, but he understands enough to know that the song is in English. He steps inside quietly and places his bag down at the front entryway, then follows the source of the sound down the hall and peeks into the living room area. Sousuke is in the kitchen, tending to a bowl of vegetables, his back to the entry. He’s completely oblivious, humming and swaying to the music.

Makoto’s face crinkles into a smile that is partly amused, partly smug, and partly fascinated. In what proportions, he’s not sure yet, but he plans to figure that out in a minute. He crosses his arms and leans back against the doorjamb to watch, debating on whether he should pull out his phone to document. For posterity’s sake.

Sousuke is totally in his element, performing for an audience of (what he thought was) none, unabashedly moving his feet and gyrating his hips to the cha-cha rhythm of the the song echoing through the apartment. His voice joins in as the singer makes his entrance and Makoto finds himself breathless in discovering Sousuke’s lush baritone singing voice.

_Other dancers may be on the floor_  
_Dear, but my eyes will see only you_  
_Only you have that magic technique_  
_When we sway I go weak_

He rarely ever looks this relaxed or unguarded. It's a much more refreshing sight than Makoto expected and before he realizes it, he sighs as he takes it all in. He barely begins to register this in his mind before a nervous voice in his head interrupts and reminds him that he’s being a creepy voyeur and he decides that it’s probably prudent to stop sooner, rather than later.

"You’re gonna hurt yourself, Yamazaki.”

Sousuke jumps in surprise, letting out a not-all-that-manly yelp. He turns toward the doorway and narrows his eyes at the tall man grinning at him. He regains his composure immediately and goes right back to peeling the carrot in his hand. Makoto says nothing else but does offer a soft, maybe knowing, smile as he joins the other man at the counter.

Sousuke glances at the clock on the stove. “You’re early.”

“That happens sometimes,” he beams as he pulls the second apron off the hook on the wall and puts it on.

Makoto takes a spot at the counter right next to Sousuke, reaching for the second cutting board and knife that Sousuke hands over to him.

“Never took you for a jazz person, Sou.” he says as Sousuke places the bowl of vegetables he was working from between them.

"Is it so odd?" Sousuke asks, peeling a potato as Makoto pulls a freshly peeled carrot from the bowl and starts chopping.

"No," Makoto answers rather quickly, then contemplates, looking away as he does. "Maybe," he amends."I mean, I don't think I've ever heard you play it in the years I've known you. Usually it's rock, maybe some electronica or something." He turns his gaze back to Sousuke, looking slightly sheepish that he had made such an assumption about his friend. "Sorry."

Sousuke chuckles. "It chills me out," he admits with a shrug.

"Apparently," Makoto teases, beaming an innocent smile when Sousuke turns his head to him. Sousuke raises an eyebrow. "You’ve got some nice moves," Makoto reminds him, playfully wiggling his hips to the song still streaming.

Sousuke's eyes widen and he turns his attention back to the food on the counter. Makoto notices a bit of color on his cheeks and ears and grins a little wider before going back to his own work.

"But, if you must know," the taller man continues, ignoring the events of the last several seconds, "I do listen to a pretty wide range. Sinatra today, Oldcodex next week."

"Then again," he pauses, thoughtful, "maybe I'm just a sucker for good-looking guys who can sing." He winks at Makoto, whose ears turn a nice dark shade of pink, before turning back to the potato he’s peeling. They spend a little while just preparing vegetables in silence.

The next song comes on and Makoto finds himself bobbing his head to its upbeat rhythm, humming along when the melody begins. A small smile crosses his face as a memory from his childhood surfaces: his mother making dinner while Makoto -- still an only child then -- and Haru play in the living room.  She would put on some jazz while she cooked, humming along occasionally. Then, when his dad came home, he’d pull her away from the counter and they would dance and twirl around in the living room.

Sometimes Haru and Makoto joined them, the boys clasping each other's hands, hopping  around on awkward legs. Sometimes his parents would dance with each of the boys instead. The boys grew out of it eventually, but Makoto's parents never have.

A hand on his arm takes him back to reality. Sousuke takes the knife from him, lays it back down on the cutting board, then offers Makoto an open hand. Makoto stares at it for a moment, confused, then turning to Sousuke, finds him smirking.

“Let’s go, Tachibana,” he says, less a suggestion and more an order. An expectation. Either way, it works. Makoto does as asked automatically and places his hand on Sousuke’s.

“Go where?” he asks, following Sousuke helplessly, his face suddenly feeling just a bit warm. Sousuke simply looks back over his shoulder and winks.

Sousuke leads him into the middle of the living room, twirls around, and pulls Makoto to him with a flourish. He flashes a grin as he slips his right arm around Makoto's waist then, with his free hand puts Makoto's left hand on his right shoulder. He takes the remaining hand and holds it firmly in his own left hand.

Makoto is _beyond_ flustered, having Sousuke so close, his teal eyes gleaming as he positions their arms around each other. His face must look like a cherry by now. Next thing he knows, Sousuke instructs him to "just follow my lead" before he steps off and starts swaying both of them around the living room.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, Makoto’s embarrassment gives way to awkward giggles, then outright laughter as he and Sousuke glide back and forth across the large room and occasionally trip over each other’s feet. Between the laughter and the physical effort of dancing and trying not to die in the process, they are both breathless by the time the song slows to its finish.

Makoto starts to release his own hold around Sousuke when the next song on the playlist begins with strong, slow drumbeats. He feels Sousuke squeeze his hand while the one on his back presses him inward, closing the gap between him and its owner.

“Here we go,” the taller man says softly, still catching his breath. “Here’s a decent song for a Valentine dance.”

Sousuke pulls their hands in, holding Makoto’s hand against his chest and guides him, their hips rocking slowly from side to side.

“Sousuke…,” Makoto barely gets the name out before his voice breaks.

“It’s alright, Mako,” Sousuke breathes by his ear. “Gotta have a slow dance too, right?”

Makoto can’t find the breath or brain power to produce any words of protest. And his knees are feeling a little weak. And so are his arms, really. And it’s just one dance. What’s the big deal?

He settles in against Sousuke and suddenly all his senses are sharpened. The hairs of Sousuke’s sideburns tickle his cheeks. His nose picks up the scent of Sousuke’s shampoo and soap. The hint of chlorine on his skin. The faint musk under that. He’s suddenly so conscious of the muscles of Sousuke’s torso rippling through both their shirts. He hopes that Sousuke can’t feel the somersaults his heart is doing right now.

Sousuke moves Makoto’s hand up from his chest and sets it against his neck while he moves his own to Makoto’s lower back, both hands now spanning his waist. Makoto swallows and actively tries to breathe while he hears a river of blood rush past his ears. When it dies down a little, he becomes aware of Sousuke humming with the music while his thumbs rub small circles on his back.

This sudden closeness, this -- intimacy is overwhelming. It’s unexpected and a bit alarming, but at the same time, it’s comforting and...who’d have thought?

Makoto breaks out of his thoughts to realize that Sousuke’s humming has changed to a whisper-singing by his ear. The song is slow enough for him to understand the words now and as Sousuke sings the last words, Makoto stops breathing completely.

_Don’t you know I sit around_  
_With my head hanging down_  
_And I wonder_  
_Who’s lovin’ you?_

They stand pressed together for what seems like minutes after the song is over and the next one has begun. Makoto’s heart is beating faster now than it did when they finished dancing the last song and he feels like he’s breathing harder too. His face is _hot_ and he tries to keep it hidden, looking down and avoiding having to meet Sousuke’s eyes. He tries to figure out what to do next, what to say, but words fail him.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Makoto,” Sousuke murmurs by his ear before relaxing his hold and pulling away himself.

“H-happy Valentine’s Day, S-sousuke,” he stammers back, keeping his gaze low. “Thank you.” He grasps for what to say next.

“W-we should probably get dinner going,” he mumbles before turning back toward the kitchen, while Sousuke watches him leave, a small smile lighting up his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> _Oh no, he's hot._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry, Makoto. But not really, though.
> 
>  
> 
> The song that Sousuke is dancing to is [the titular song, Sway.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmYMkl1Grzc)
> 
> The song that triggers Makoto's memory is [Haven't Met You Yet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmYMkl1Grzc)
> 
> The slow song is Michael Buble's version of Michael Jackson's [Who's Lovin' You.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbmcXtuNjYY)
> 
>  
> 
> Love and constructive criticism always welcome!
> 
> You can find me on [The Tumblrs.](http://idontevenswim.tumblr.com)


End file.
